Hanover Hall

Hanover Hall
The former Hanover Street Baptist Church in central Dunedin
Former names	Hanover Street Baptist Church, The Mission, The Vatican, The Monkey Bar[1]
General information
Type	Church, concert hall
Location	65 Hanover Street, central Dunedin, New Zealand
Coordinates	45°52′13″S 170°30′26″E
Current tenants	Dunedin Symphony Orchestra
Completed	1912
Owner	Lloyd Williams[2]
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Edmund Anscombe (1874–1948)
Heritage New Zealand – Category 1
Designated	8 August 1991
Reference no.	7492

Hanover Hall is a community arts centre and event venue in central in Dunedin, New Zealand, opened in 2018 as home to the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. The building was built in 1912 as the Hanover Street Baptist Church, located in Hanover Street 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) northeast of the city centre, close to the Otago Medical School.

History

Viewed from the east in 2016

Initially Dunedin Baptists worshipped with other Free Church groups until they established themselves in a building of their own. The church and its Sunday school were founded in 1863. A Superintendent of Otago Thomas Dick (1823–1900) was one of the initial trustees. Dr William Purdie, an Edinburgh graduate and an early and distinguished medical practitioner in Dunedin, was a founding father.

The building was designed by Edmund Anscombe (1874–1948) and completed in 1912 as the first Baptist church in Dunedin.

A number of notable politicians and other well-known New Zealanders have been connected with the church including Dame Silvia Cartwright, a former Governor-General of New Zealand, who spent most of her younger years in Dunedin.^{[citation needed]}

The congregation moved to another site in 1996. The building was unoccupied for a time before being used for a series of restaurants and bars, most latterly a nightclub called The Monkey Bar.^[3][2] In 2016 it was closed and purchased by a local couple for the purpose of housing the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, and was officially reopened and renamed "Hanover Hall" in November 2018 by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.^[4]

Features

Hanover Hall (formerly Hanover Street Baptist Church) interior, 2018

The structure is a fine design and was provided with good stained glass windows, some of which were removed when it was converted from a church to a bar. The present floor is apparently built some three feet above the original. While the overhead balcony pews appear to be intact they do not seem to be in good condition.

One of the most interesting features is a pipe organ^{[citation needed]}, which is believed to be only the second of its kind in New Zealand. (The other is at the Dunedin Town Hall.) The instrument has not been serviced for some time and it is uncertain whether it is in working condition. There is a bell tower, a prominent feature of the locality.

The building has been classified a Category I historic place by Heritage New Zealand, with registration number 4792.^[5]

References

1. Fitzgerald, Chelle. "The demise of the student pub". Critic (Te Arohi). Retrieved 11 April 2018.
2. McAvinue, Shaun (23 May 2016). "Music again for former church". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
3. Tregonning, James. "From devotion to debauchery". Critic (Te Arohi). Retrieved 19 March 2018.
4. Lewis, John (3 November 2018). "Hanover Hall opens with PM's tributes". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
5. "Hanover Street Baptist Church". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 7 July 2008.

Further reading

• Hamilton, Derek; Hamilton, Judith (2009). Early Churches in and Around Dunedin (Paperback). Christchurch, NZ: Self-published. ISBN 978-0-473-15950-4.